--- title: "3 Best Cloudflare AI Gateway Alternatives in 2026 (Compared)" description: "Looking for a Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative? Compare the best AI Gateways & LLM Proxies alternatives to Cloudflare AI Gateway by pricing, free tiers, and features — find the right fit for your startup." source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/cloudflare-ai-gateway retrieved: 2026-10-14 --- AI Gateways & LLM Proxies # The 3 Best Cloudflare AI Gateway Alternatives in 2026 Looking for an alternative to [Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cloudflare-ai-gateway)? Below we compare the best ai gateways & llm proxies alternatives by pricing, free tiers, and what each is best for — so you can pick the right fit for your budget and stack. Category AI Gateways & LLM Proxies Cloudflare AI Gateway pricing Free tier available Free tier Yes Alternatives 3 compared ## Why look for a Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative? Cloudflare AI Gateway is a solid ai gateways & llm proxies choice, but it isn't the right fit for everyone. The most common reasons teams evaluate alternatives: * −No per-team virtual keys or budgets like LiteLLM * −Log pricing changed for gateways made after Sep 24 2026 * −Guardrails billed as extra inference ## Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Alternatives — Quick Comparison | Tool | Pricing | Free tier | Rating | Best for | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | --------- | ------ | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | [Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/cloudflare-ai-gateway)You searched | Free · paid from $5/mo | ✓ | 4.4 | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — caching, rate-limiting | | 1.[LiteLLM](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/litellm) | Free · paid plans by quote | ✓ | 4.6 | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — llm-proxy, open-source | | 2.[Helicone](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/helicone) | Free · paid from $79/mo | ✓ | 4.5 | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — llm-observability, open-source | | 3.[Portkey](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/portkey) | Free · paid from $49/mo | ✓ | 4.5 | AI Gateways & LLM Proxies — llm-routing, observability | ## Top Cloudflare AI Gateway Alternatives, Explained ![LiteLLM](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=litellm.ai&sz=128) ### 1. LiteLLM Free tier4.6· Free · paid plans by quote LiteLLM is an MIT-licensed SDK and proxy server that puts every major model provider behind one OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Requests go straight from your servers to the providers you hold keys for, so no third party sits in your traffic path. The proxy adds virtual keys with budgets and rate limits per key, user or team, plus fallbacks, load balancing and spend tracking (it needs a Postgres database for those). The open-source edition is free; you pay for the server. LiteLLM Enterprise adds SSO, audit logs, role-based access and support at custom pricing. * ✓Free and open source (MIT) * ✓No third party in your request path * ✓Per-team keys and budgets [LiteLLM pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/litellm)[Cloudflare AI Gateway vs LiteLLM ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-litellm) ![Helicone](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=helicone.ai&sz=128) ### 2. Helicone Free tier4.5· Free · paid from $79/mo Helicone started as LLM request logging and now ships an open-source AI gateway alongside it, with caching, rate limits and automatic fallbacks across providers. Every request is logged with cost, latency and the full prompt, and can be queried with its HQL query language. The Hobby plan is free for 10,000 requests a month with 7-day retention. Pro is $79/month (unlimited seats, alerts, one-month retention) and Team is $799/month (SOC 2, HIPAA, three-month retention), both usage-based after the first 10K requests. You can also self-host it. * ✓Open source and self-hostable * ✓Cost and latency logging on every request * ✓Generous free tier [Helicone pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/helicone)[Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Helicone ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-helicone) ![Portkey](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=portkey.ai&sz=128) ### 3. Portkey Free tier4.5· Free · paid from $49/mo Portkey combines a gateway and an observability layer. The gateway gives one API across model providers with retries, fallbacks, load balancing, caching and guardrails; the observability side records logs, traces and feedback. The gateway itself is open source and can be self-hosted. The hosted Developer plan is free for 10K recorded logs a month (requests over the limit still go through, they just are not logged). Production is $49/month for 100K logs plus $9 per extra 100K, and adds semantic caching, RBAC and alerts. Enterprise adds private cloud, VPC hosting, SSO and HIPAA. * ✓Gateway and observability in one product * ✓Open-source gateway you can self-host * ✓Guardrails and semantic caching [Portkey pricing & review ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/portkey)[Cloudflare AI Gateway vs Portkey ](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway-vs-portkey) [In-depth guideOpenRouter vs LiteLLM (2026): Hosted AI Gateway vs Open-Source LLM ProxyOpenRouter is a hosted service: one key, 500+ models, a 5.5% fee on credits. LiteLLM is MIT-licensed software you run yourself, with virtual keys and budgets per team. How each works, what the gateway costs at three spend levels, and why this site runs on OpenRouter.](https://appstackbuilder.com/blog/openrouter-vs-litellm-2026) ## Frequently Asked Questions What are the best alternatives to Cloudflare AI Gateway in 2026?⌄ The best Cloudflare AI Gateway alternatives in 2026 are LiteLLM, Helicone, Portkey. Each is a ai gateways & llm proxies option you can compare on pricing, free tiers, and features in the table above. Is there a free alternative to Cloudflare AI Gateway?⌄ Yes — LiteLLM, Helicone, Portkey offer free tiers, making them strong free Cloudflare AI Gateway alternatives for bootstrapped startups. Why look for a Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative?⌄ A common reason teams switch is no per-team virtual keys or budgets like litellm. Beyond that, people compare ai gateways & llm proxies tools on pricing, specific feature gaps, ease of use, and whether an open-source or free-tier option exists — so they can pick the best fit for their stack and budget. What is the cheapest Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative?⌄ LiteLLM is among the most affordable Cloudflare AI Gateway alternatives — free · paid plans by quote. Check the comparison table above for the full pricing breakdown. Which Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative is rated highest?⌄ LiteLLM is the highest-rated Cloudflare AI Gateway alternative in our catalog at 4.6 out of 5, making it a strong pick if you want a well-reviewed option. ## Find your perfect ai gateways & llm proxies tool Skip the research. Get a free AI-powered tech stack matched to your budget, app type, and team size in seconds. [Build my stack free ](https://appstackbuilder.com/)